Can any of you clarify what the ATC rules are for helicopters operating over NYC that are not landing at one of the helipads that are on the VFR corridors? Who (if anyone) are the pilots operating over the city talking to?

What about other cities?

I do not know about other parts of the country but here in the southeast all of the EMS helicopters use 123.05 as a common traffic freq. to report their positions etc. after getting out of ATC controlled airspace. There are many times when we are at 500' and below all of the rings except the surface one and never talk to a sole. I'm sure Jerry will chime in and give you real scoop...

Eric, If you do the free online course on operations in the NYC VFR corridor, I think all your questions will be answered. AOPA has a link to the course. Plus, then you will be qualified for the NYC corridor operations.

Richard, are you sure? I'm not asking about operations in the corridor, but helicopter operations over Manhattan itself. For instance, when Donald Trump gets in his helicopter atop the Trump Tower, does the pilot need to get a take off or en route clearance from someplace? Or is it uncontrolled below a certain altitude?

SW Manhattan has a 1500ft floor to the Bravo airspace, so no clearance to takeoff would be necessary. If you can get your hands on a NY TAC chart, the back side details operations in and around NYC.

No NYC ops for me Jay. I will stay well clear of that area thank you.

Totally off subject, I have flown an AH-64 Apache right down the Thames river into London at 300 ft AGL right over the Tower Bridge and landed at the Westland Battersea heliport for fuel then proceeded north past Luton. This was all on the London helicopter system.

http://www.londonheliport.co.uk/about-us/history/

The island has class Bravo to the surface for anything north of 34th st and a curved line from 34th and 5th down to almost the williamsburg bridge. IAW 91.131 a 3, you would need a clearance before taking off.

You can access a New York Helicopter chart on Sky Vector. It should answer most of your questions.



http://skyvector.com

Thanks for all of the info, guys. Very helpful!

Somewhat separate from your question, but rooftop heli operations are forbidden by NYC law (obviously, there is an exception for law enforcement).

Charlie, I was going to say that I could swear that I'd seen it happen, but then I did a little googling and found that I must have seen it prior to 9/11.